Yodo River
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The , also called the Seta River (瀬田川 ''Seta-gawa'') and the Uji River (宇治川 ''Uji-gawa'') at portions of its route, is the principal
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in
Osaka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture ...
on
Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. The source of the river is
Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13th ol ...
in
Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...
to the north. The Yodo River, usually called the Seta River in Shiga Prefecture, begins at the southern outlet of the lake in
Ōtsu 270px, Ōtsu City Hall is the capital city of Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,991 in 153458 households and a population density of 740 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Ōtsu is ...
. There is a dam there to regulate the lake level. Further downstream, the Seta flows into Kyoto Prefecture and its name changes to the Uji River. It then merges with two other rivers, the
Katsura River The is a continuation of two other rivers, the Hozu River, a small, speedy river which begins in the mountains near Kameoka and then slithers through the mountains separating Kameoka and Kyoto; and the Ōi River (大堰川 ''Ōi-gawa''), whi ...
and the
Kizu River is a river that crosses the prefectures of Kyoto and Mie in Japan, a tributary of the Yodo River. The city of Kizugawa is a city located in southern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is the southernmost city in the prefecture and it is named afte ...
in Kyoto Prefecture. The Katsura has its headwaters in the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture, while the Kizu comes from
Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
. From the three-river confluence, the river is called the Yodo River, which flows south, through
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, and on into
Osaka Bay Osaka Bay (大阪湾 ''Ōsaka-wan'' ) is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. ...
. In Osaka, part of the river has been diverted into an artificial channel; the old course in the heart of Osaka is called the
Kyū-Yodo River The was the main stream of the Yodo River before 1907, when the current (new) Yodo River was constructed by a normalisation project. Now called the ''Kyū-Yodo River'', it is a major waterway in central Osaka and the main drainage of Neyagawa ...
(literally, 'Former Yodo River'). It serves as a source of water for irrigation and also powers hydroelectric generators.


History

The choice of the ancient capital
Heian-kyō Heian-kyō was one of several former names for the city now known as Kyoto. It was the official capital of Japan for over one thousand years, from 794 to 1868 with an interruption in 1180. Emperor Kanmu established it as the capital in 794, mov ...
(now
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
) during the
Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, was partly chosen because of the presence of the Yodo river that flows towards Osaka, and its outlet on the
Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...
. The river played a very important role for the movement and transport of goods between
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
and
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, until the arrival of the first trains in the 1870s. In 1858, it is estimated there were 50 boats daily of all types that carried about 1,500 people from Osaka to Fushimi. In the 19th century, a trip to Steamboat between Osaka and Fushimi could take 12 hours.E. Johnston
For foreign nationals over 150 years ago, Kyoto’s Fushimi was end of the line
''The Japan Times'' (22 April 2018).
There's antique
Ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...
that depict the history of Yodo River (Uji River). The Uji River has a prominent place in the so-called "Uji chapters" of '' The Tale of Genji'', a novel written by the Japanese noblewoman
Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of '' The Tale of Genji,'' widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between abou ...
in the early eleventh century. Nowadays, the Uji River, or the Yodo River in Kyoto Prefecture, is a popular fishing spot during the summer and fall months. Map of the area along the Yodo river.jpg, Map of the Yodo-gawa between Osaka and Fushimi (1847) (The North is on the left and Osaka in the lower right corner). Kagesue, Takatsuna and Shigetada crossing the Uji river.jpg,
Kajiwara Kagesue , was a samurai in service to the Minamoto clan during the Genpei War of Japan's late Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al'' (2005). "Kajiwara Kagetoki" in The ''Heike monogatari'' records an anecdote about a friendly competition wi ...
,
Sasaki Takatsuna was a Japanese samurai commander in the Genpei War, the great conflict between the Minamoto and Taira clans.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al'' (2005). "Sasaki Takatsuna" in An infant at the time of the Heiji Rebellion (1159–1160), Takatsu ...
, and
Hatakeyama Shigetada was a samurai warlord of the late Heian and early Kamakura period Japan. He fought in the Genpei War, though originally for the Taira clan, he switched sides to the Minamoto clan for the Battle of Dan-no-ura, and ended the war on the winning si ...
racing to cross the Uji River before the second battle of Uji, by
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Utagawa Kuniyoshi ( ja, 歌川 国芳, ; January 1, 1798 – April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al'' (2005). "Kuniyoshi" in He was a ...
. Gakutei harunobu, ponte di pietra sul fiume aji presso il monte tenpo a osaka, XIX sec.JPG,
Yashima Gakutei Yashima Gakutei ( ja, 八島岳亭; 1868) was a Japanese artist and poet who was a pupil of both Totoya Hokkei and Hokusai. Gakutei is best known for his kyōka poetry and surimono works. Biography Gakutei was born in Osaka around 1786, tho ...
.


Transportation

There are more than 50 bridges that cross the Yodo river. These include bridges for cars and trains.


References


External links

(mouth) (origin) {{Authority control Rivers of Osaka Prefecture Rivers of Kyoto Prefecture Rivers of Shiga Prefecture Rivers of Japan